Their schools were closed, so Ryan Hughes (left) and his brother Bennett Hughes spent the morning after the blackout at the San Diego Zoo. They slithered to a stop at the Reptile House.
— Howard Lipin

And then there was light. And after that, play dates at the Reptile House. And impressive feats of child-juggling. Morning-after regrets and tales of extreme tuna hoarding.

On the day after the Great Blackout, San Diego was not in the grip of a power-grid apocalypse. But it wasn’t business as usual, either. Power was restored, but schools were closed, schedules were jettisoned, and signs of a long, off-kilter night were as plain as the spent candles on your coffee table.

On this Freaky Friday, kids went to the Zoo instead of first grade. Parents went to the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center instead of the office. One shopkeeper relished the spoils of blackout buying sprees, and at least one good citizen of Ocean Beach sighed over the party that never was.

It was a night for the books. Here are a few local snapshots to remember it by.

In the parent hood

At the San Diego Zoo’s Reptile House, the Mexican lance-headed rattlesnake was snoozing, the Red Coachwhip was prowling, and Annette Hughes of Chula Vista was making the best of an unexpected child-care situation. Which turned out to be not that hard at all.

“Actually, I was a little relieved when I found out the schools were closed. I got to sleep in,” said the stay-at-home mother, as 6-year-old Bennett and 2-year-old Ryan raced through the shady exhibit.

But for Hughes, the best part of the blackout was not this bonus morning after. As many Monopoly-playing, impromptu block-party throwing locals discovered, an evening without power had some sweet advantages.

“The kids went to sleep at 7:15, as soon as it got dark,” Hughes said. “My husband and I just sat around and talked, instead of vegging out in front of the TV. And then as soon as I got ready to go to bed, we got our power back and the air-conditioning went on. It was pretty perfect.”

Like other local attractions, the Reuben H. Fleet Science Center was offering family-friendly blackout deals (two-for-one admissions), but chances are good Andrew Sanford and his sons would have turned up there anyway.

When Sanford and his wife, Katy, ﻿discovered that the School of the Madeleine ﻿was closed, a quick round of working-parent mambo ensued. Eventually, it was determined that Sanford would take care of their 5-year-old twins and Katy would go to her job at Propulsion Controls Engineering.

So while Mitchel ﻿and Logan burned off their kindergarten energy in the Science Center’s play area, the Bay Park bridge engineer kept one eye on them and the other on his phone, where the work updates kept on coming.

“I feel like I’m shirking my work duties, but my bosses understand,” said Sanford, who spent the night before barbecuing and — after the kids went to bed — watching episodes of “NCIS” with Katy on one of the family’s many laptops.

“This is what you sign up for when you’re a parent. They will get sick, there will be school closures. This is what happens in families.”